Researching Natsu Dragneel
by Lucky Lucy Heartfilia
Summary: Getting the latest article for Sorcerer Weekly is going to be hard, especially after the incident with Natsu two months back. Mix in old friends from Fairy Tail, Lucy's idea of 'incognito', and a party where everyone is just a bit too drunk, and you get...Researching Natsu Dragneel.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! It's me, Lucky Lucy Heartfilia. This story was the first one I wrote that wasn't a crack prompt (that might tell you what I write XD). Hope you all enjoy it!**

 **There's going to be some NaLu shipping here, and a bit of hinted GaLe. If you don't like that *first of all HOW DARE YOU* then...don't read? Otherwise, all should be well.**

 **~~~ooo~~~**

"You want me to go...spy on Natsu Dragneel?" Lucy asked, grimacing at her boss. Jason winced theatrically.

"I wouldn't call it _spying_ , per see. It's more like, the guy keeps refusing all our reporters-threw that one guy out the window, or so the rumor goes-and you've got a history with him, don't ya? So, just go and do a little tiny bit of incognito reporting. It'll be so cool!" The last word rose in a dramatic aria of notes. Lucy sighed and rubbed her temples. She did have a 'history', as the blond told it, but he had no idea what kind.

It had been a summer cocktail party, and nobody had told Lucy how generously the punch had been laced with tequila until she was tipping around on the dance floor, giggling hysterically. She'd been drunk, to say the least. She'd consumed far too much alcohol than any featherweight like her should have. Natsu had done the same, but the difference between them was that Natsu could hold his alcohol, while Lucy could not.

Natsu was good enough to take her back to her flat and force a few sips of water down her parched throat. When Lucy had thanked him, the redhead had brushed it off, saying that 'you'd have done the same if it was me staggering around wearing a lampshade on my head!' Lucy would have; she found a special sort of pride in taking care of Natsu and his antics. Of course, that was where the comparison between them fell down.

Natsu was a Dragon Slayer, and, like any of his kind, was privy to the occasional fit of draconic instincts, including mating needs.

As far as she could discern, Lucy, drunk off the punch and the late hour, had thrown herself at him. His instincts took over, and they'd ended up making out on the couch before passing out wrapped in blankets on the floor. Thankfully, it didn't go any further, but when Lucy woke up to find herself topless and wrapped in Natsu Dragneel's arms, she'd fled the house. They hadn't seen each other since.

"So, you'll do it?" Jason asked, watching her carefully.

"I'll do it," Lucy groaned, "but you'll have to pay me extra."

"Deal!" Jason shouted. "And you're off, my young journalist!"

~~~ooo~~~

The townhouse loomed imposingly, despite the bright lights shining from the windows. Lucy shifted from one foot to the next, trying to work up the courage to enter. Before she could conclude to make the reasonable choice and leave, screw the extra pay, the door swung open and Levy staggered out, accompanied by a grinning Gajeel.

"Oh! Hey there, Lucy." Judging by the smile on Levy's face, the party was already raging.

"Uhh...hey! Do you know where Natsu is? I was hoping I'd run into him here..." Internally, she winced at the lie. Jason wanted it to be 'incognito', which meant going to the party and pretending like everything was normal after a few months of silence and that questionable night.

"Yeah, he's over there. Should be, anyways." Levy hiccuped and giggled.

"You should go find someone else, Lucy, I don't think the shrimp is going to be doing anything helpful anytime soon." Gajeel looked fondly at the blue-haired woman. "I'll stay here, make sure she doesn't do anything too crazy, you go find Natsu!"

Lucy wandered hesitantly into the house. It was honestly, quite amazing. She hadn't been keeping up as well as she would have liked with the other Fairy Tail members, only a few letters and the such, but to slip almost effortlessly into the old banter with nobody questioning it was comforting.

It turned out, she didn't even need to find a guide. She ran into Natsu Dragneel himself, laughing uproariously on top of a table to the appreciation of about half a dozen other people, most of which she knew.

She smiled, drawing a bit closer, just wanting to watch her old friend. Then Natsu saw her. His eyes widened, and, noticing the distraction of their entertainer, the watchers turned. The world went silent.

"Lucy?"

 **~~~ooo~~~**

 **Aaaand that's all for now! How'd you guys like it? Please review, I'd love to become a better writer. Best wishes, Lucky Lucy is outta here (until next time)!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! It's me again! I wasn't going to put up another chapter this quickly, but free periods in school (mixed with all the amazing encouragement I've gotten!) can do wonders. No, really, thank you all so much. I never expected so many people to be interested! So, here's the second chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **Oh yes, Gruvia is hinted at in this chapter, along with other characters shipping NaLu. Because it's absolutely obvious that they are fated. *my story, my shipping!***

 **~~~ooo~~~**

"Luce?" Natsu stepped a bit closer, eyes squinted slightly with a mix of surprise and tenderness. "Is it really you?"

"Y-yeah," Lucy stuttered before catching herself. "Who else would it be?"

"Well, heck, I don't know. Maybe I'm just really drunk, because I haven't seen you in months, not since..."

"Since the incident?" Lucy asked quietly.

"Yeah."

Lucy took a deep breath and clenched her fists. "What really happened?"

Natsu's eyes darkened. "There's a story, Luce, but not one for anybody who wasn't there," he warned to his former audience. "Come on, I know somewhere more private."

"I always knew they'd end up like this," Levy sighed, smiling. "Oh, to be young and in love and denying it so obviously everybody else automatically knows."

~~~ooo~~~

Lucy sat down on the first thing she saw and watched Natsu intently. She had a feeling the story was going to change a lot, for better or for worse, and she wanted to have this image of the Dragon Slayer to look back on.

Just in case it was the 'worse' option.

Natsu glanced over at Lucy, smiling. "You ready to hear the story?"

"Of course!" Lucy said. At the back of her mind, the Sorcerer Weekly article loomed. But that could wait until she'd done a bit of reconnaissance on Natsu for her own purposes.

"Okay, then, Luce. Do you remember the party, or were you too wasted?" he asked, smirking. Lucy flushed, nodding. "Do you remember the firework that nearly burned Juvia?" Natsu asked. Lucy didn't, but she wasn't about to let Natsu see that.

"Of course I do," she said with confidence. Natsu broke into raucous laughter.

"No, you don't. There was no fireworks, and Juvia was off with Gray the whole time like usual!" he managed between bursts of mirth. Lucy berated herself internally. Number one rule of journalism: don't lie unless you can pull it off!

"I'll catch you up. For the party itself, you didn't miss much. Although...there was this really awesome fruit-throwing contest. You would not _believe_ how far Gray launched it with some sort of pressurized ice cannon, it was amazing." Natsu smiled, reminiscing. Lucy loudly cleared her throat.

"Natsu, I'm here to learn about that night and next day's morning, not Gray's pressurized ice cannons," she reprimanded.

"Oh. Yeah. So, back on topic of 'the incident', nothing really important happened during the party, except you and your insistence on drinking so much tequila punch." He drew himself up like he had just gotten to the good part of the story, and Lucy leaned forward, holding her breath.

"And?"

Natsu flashed a cocksure smile. "And I had to walk you home. Everything that's worth knowing about that night happened then."

Lucy was almost trembling with excitement. "What happened? Did I say anything? About what? Did anybody else hear?"

Natsu laughed, this time so hard that fire sparked at the back of his throat.

"Luce, I know you're doing an article on me, but you could at least _try_ to be a bit inconspicuous about it, couldn't you?" he asked, still chuckling.

~~~ooo~~~

Lucy gaped at the young Dragon Slayer. She wanted to try to say something, but the only words that formed in her throat were: "Was I really so obvious?"

"Yeah; the way you look around, focus on the smallest things, even the way you ask questions. I can see you're super enthusiastic about journalism, and don't take this like I'm trying to stop you," Natsu paused, and Lucy held her breath, "but if you want anything about me-both for Sorcerer Weekly and about that night-you're going to have to earn it!"

Lucy's heart dropped. Natsu was exceedingly stubborn; there was no way she'd get anything if the Dragon Slayer didn't want her to get it.

Natsu must have noticed her disappointed expression, because he patted her on the back.

"Cheer up, I never said I'd never give it to you. You just have to earn it first." He pulled out a brightly coloured scarf, tied in knots. "This is the first game! I'll get someone to hide this, and whoever finds it first gets to choose the information given." He winked. "You'll want to be careful with this once you find it," he added, "it's important!"

 **~~~ooo~~~**

 **Ooh, Natsu, mysterious obscure suggestions? Ahaha, I know how it all ends! ~Benefits of Being a Writer~**

 **I kept getting autocorrected whenever I put words in italics. What does anybody have against italics?**

 **Well, I've been through an entire chapter without thanking the people who inspired me to write again so soon. You all know who you are, and I thank each and every one of you.**

 ***holds out hands meekly for reviews to help me***


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, it's me again! This story just keeps getting wilder and wilder...games, parti** **es,** **Levy decides to take action to make NaLu real...all fun stuff!**

"So, all you have to do is find this little scarf before I do," Natsu confirmed. "I'll get someone to hide it. If you want, you can watch me pull some drunken partygoer out of their antics and force them to help us play," he offered, eyes twinkling. Lucy managed to hold back a laugh and placed her hands on her hips, forcing a playfully suspicious expression.

"How do I know you haven't planned anything out beforehand?" she asked. "You'd easily win that way."

Natsu nodded, pursing his lips, contemplating Lucy's words. "I could have, yeah. But I guess you'll just have to trust that I won't." He leaned forward, his dragon-like eyes suddenly bright. "Will you trust me, Lucy?"

Lucy's mouth went dry. She couldn't swallow. Natsu looked...not dangerous, but predatory. Primal. He looked like a Dragon Slayer, to the root of the words.

It was probably a very bad choice to trust this darkly smiling Natsu.

"I trust you."

~~~ooo~~~

Instantly, Natsu's smile reverted back to the same wide grin it had always been, so quickly Lucy almost convinced herself that the smirk had been a figment of her imagination.

"That's great! Now, I'll ask someone..." He leaned out the window, yelled 'CATCH', and dropped the bundled scarf. Lucy winced at the screech from below.

"I don't think that's the way to ask someone for a favour," she said.

"Oh, calm down, Luce, we'd hear screaming if they were seriously hurt. Anyways, it was just a-"

"A what?" Lucy asked, leaning forward. Natsu stiffened, looking suddenly awkward.

"Something you'll have to find out if you win the game," the pink-haired young man teased. "Now, let's see who stepped up!" He dashed down the stairs, leaving Lucy to follow at a slower pace.

~~~ooo~~~

"Just give it to me," Levy hissed. Gray frowned.

"Why?" he asked, looking slightly disturbed by Levy's maniac grabbing.

"Just-give-it," she demanded. Gray crossed his arms.

"Not until you tell me why you need a scarf with a plastic bag full of...whatever these are...that fell from the sky,' he said, turning one of the small objects in his hand. Levy screeched.

"No! I can't see them! I need to have the mystery, the intrigue of not not knowing what Natsu's plan that involves the objects are, and so _help_ me Gray, if you ruin this moment for me, the First Master won't be able to save you." Gray held up his hands, a awkward, placating grin plastered on his face.

"Okay, okay!" The black-haired wizard held them out for a second before snatching them back. "You still have to tell me why you want them so bad."

"Shh!" Levy shushed the ice wizard, looking from side to side for Natsu and Lucy. "Fine! Natsu and Lucy are playing a game, and it's becoming physically painful to watch them stutter and hyperventilate around each other because _they are in love_ , and I will lose it if I have to watch those two not make moves one more time." She paused, breathing heavily. "So, I am going to tweak their little game-don't ask, I found this excellent eavesdropping spell in the library yesterday-so you need to _give that to me_."

"Fine, fine." Gray laughed, finally relinquishing possession. "Don't blame me when your obvious fangirling creeps them out. How much have you had to drink, anyways?" he yelled, but Levy was already sprinting away.

"Lucy! Natsu! Is this yours?" the bluenette yelled, waving the scarf. Something nearly fell out, and she hastily re-tied it, hoping the two wizards hadn't seen the near slip-up.

"Yeah!" Natsu said, smiling. "Could you hide those somewhere? Somewhere inconspicuous. Me and Luce are playing a game," he added. "I can't say anything more."

Levy nodded. "Leave it to me!"

~~~ooo~~~

Levy crept along the hallways, checking for other people every five steps. When she was sure the place was clear, she ducked into a bedroom and stashed the parcel in a small walk-in closet. Then she snuck around the back of the house, carefully avoiding Natsu, and cornered Gray playing beer pong.

"Gray! Make sure Lucy and Natsu end up in the walk-in closet upstairs at the same time, okay?"

Gray stared, then scoffed. "You want to...trap them there? That is the most convoluted start to what you assume will be their relationship I have ever heard."

"Do it. Please?" Levy asked. Gray finally relented.

"Fine. But don't blame me when everything goes wrong."

 **Aaaand that's it! Side note: Apparently 'snuck' isn't a word...? I've been using it for a while, and I'm still unsure if it's 'snuck' or 'sneaked', and which** **one is more appropriate where.** **If you know, I'd love the help. *grammar and spelling sure are fun wow***

 **See you next time, Lucy Lucy Heartfilia out!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! Arrgghh, I know my updating schedule is weird. I'm sorry, guys. I'll try to keep it more frequent and consistent from here on out. Here's the fourth chapter!**

 **~~~ooo~~~**

 _Ha, ha, Natsu and Lucy! You think you can get away with being such an adorable pair that won't get together around me? Think again!_ Levy thought, sipping from her cup. Some part of her knew that drinking made her do crazy things, like buy twenty jars of Big Ben's All-Natural Honeysuckle-Cherry Jam or magically create an entire set of clothes for Happy out of shower curtains, but most of her didn't care. And anyways, the jam had been pretty good after she'd added fresh yogurt, and Happy had liked the clothes. Ergo, foolproof evidence that her drunk ideas were good ones that worked.

Well, the idea for the 'improved strand of cherry trees' project hadn't been one of her best, but that was just _one_. This, Project Get-Lucy-And-Natsu-Together, was sure to work.

~~~ooo~~~

"Lucy! Natsu! Close your eyes, I'm coming back and I don't want you to get any hints from where I came from," Levy called.

"Yeah, that's fair," Natsu said agreeably. "Say when we can look again," he added, clapping one hand over his eyes while using the other to untangle the scarf from around his neck and loop it over Lucy's head.

Lucy stiffened. The dragon-scale scarf was sturdy-she could tell just by feeling the faintly textured material-but soft, too. And warm. And it smelled like brushfires and charcoal and a thousand other woody, fiery things all blended together into some primal scent. In short, like Natsu.

"Use that to cover your eyes," Natsu instructed, breaking her out of the daze.

"I knew that," Lucy retorted, still a little bit distracted by the smoky scent of the scarf. Natsu laughed obligingly. He was silent for a little bit, then chuckled. Lucy imagined a warm, longing grin crossing his face, like the smile a proud father gives to his grown-up son.

"It smells nice, doesn't it? Reminds me of Igneel. That's always what his cave was like. Full of the scent of wood fires, even when there was none burning."

~~~ooo~~~

 _Arrrggghhhh, look at them. JUST KISS ALREADY_ , Levy internally demanded. She didn't walk closer until it was evident that their moment was done.

"I finished hiding the thing," she called. Natsu's eyes opened immediately, shining with signature excitement and energy.

"Great!" He carefully lifted his scarf off Lucy's head, smiled at her slightly disoriented expression, and wound it back around his neck before sprinting off with a gleeful "HEAD START!"

"No fair!" Lucy called, but she was laughing as she ran after him. Levy watched them go for a moment before dashing off to find Gray.

~~~ooo~~~

"Gray!" Levy called as she trotted closer. Gray looked up from his soda mix and groaned.

"Levy-"

"Before you ask, yes, now is the time to start the plan." Gray raised an eyebrow.

"What plan?"

Levy sighed exasperatedly. "The _plan_. Project Get-Lucy-And-Natsu-Together. Your job is to get them trapped in the closet upstairs, remember?"

"And yours is?" Gray asked, looking unconvinced.

"To revel in the glory that will be Natsu and Lucy together," Levy stated firmly. "Now, will you do your part?"

~~~ooo~~~

Lucy intended to go search in the bushes beside the house. Natsu had made a beeline for the house-and, coincidentally, the kitchen-and it was obvious that he was going to search the house faster than her, especially if they we're there at the same time.

Her plan was foiled almost the moment it was conceived. There was a _lot_ of people running around near the bushes. Lucy watched in horrified fascination as someone tripped into someone else and caused a regular domino effect.

Gray walked up, looking like he was regretting a lot of decisions.

"Hey, Lucy...uh, you might want to get out of here. People are doing...things. Go into the house or something. It's getting cold outside?" He turned stiffly and walked away like he had a broomstick taped to his spine.

"That was weird," Lucy muttered, but she took the advice regardless.

Natsu was crashing around inside the house, eating random handfuls of food and tripping over the obscene amount of ottomans in the living room.

 **~~~ooo~~~**

 **I think that last sentence will be my legacy. Best sentence I have ever written. I want it framed on my wall.**

 **Until next time: Lucky Lucy out!**


	5. Chapter 5

**You are all welcome to yell at me for messing up my posting schedule. I'm so sorry, guys *.***

 **I've-finally-returned, with the fifth chapter! Lucy realizes some stuff, and it's all very nice and fluffy.**

"Hey, Natsu," Lucy said uncertainly. "Uhh...how's the searching going?" Internally, she winced at the halting, over-rehearsed tone to the question. But in her defense, the look in the pink-haired wizard's eyes couldn't have been totally sober.

"Oh, heyyy, Lucy!" Natsu laughed openly, sloppily raising an arm to gesture to the rest of the room. The movement revealed a mostly-empty green glass bottle in his right hand.

 _Who even makes beer in bottles anymore? And who's idea was it anyways to bring it to a Fairy Tail party? Isn't the stuff in cans better for a bunch of teenaged magic-users with far too much power and far too little restraint and common sense?_ Lucy despaired. The last time Natsu had ended up like this-

She pushed away the thought. All in good time. First, crush Natsu in find-the-scarf (which should be easy, seeing as he was more interested in the fridge right now), second, get all the information she wanted about The Night Two Months Ago.

Oh, and her Sorcerer Weekly article. She'd almost forgotten about that.

~~~ooo~~~

Lucy rocked back and forth on the toes of her short-heeled boots. It wouldn't be very sporting to sneak off while Natsu was staggering around the kitchen. He'd probably forgotten about the game already, and wouldn't think twice about Lucy rustling around the rooms or holding a bundled scarf. The thought made her more than a little guilty.

On the other hand, explaining the rules to a distracted Natsu would be a nightmare.

She couldn't just leave Natsu and take the advantage. But she also really, really, _really_ needed that knowledge about what happened, and in a fair search against Natsu Dragneel, Dragon Slayer, she didn't have a snowball's chance in hell.

Natsu ended up saving her the decision by burping loudly and dropping the finished bottle in the sink. Lucy winced both at the loud noise and for the benefit of whichever poor sap had to tidy up the house after Fairy Tail's mages got their destructive hands-and blue, fuzzy cat paws, Happy was racking up a storm out there-on it.

"That was refreshing! Now, let's get back to hunting." He grinned and bounced off. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief and followed.

Lucy couldn't believe she almost cheated on the game. As a rule, she tried her best to be honest and trustworthy, so people knew she was more than just her family name.

Being a Celestial wizard helped, too. When she'd confronted Natsu about her fear that people judged her by her father first, he'd looked her in the eyes with none of his usual Natsu cheeriness and said: _"Look at you, Lucy. You have your spirits. Not just any wizard can earn the trust of a Celestial spirit like you. They have to be truly good."_

She remembered that and smiled nostalgically. Natsu may have been a goofball sometimes-well, most times-but then he'd show his tender and heartfelt side, full of passion and intensity, but also friendly warmth, like a crackling hearth-side fire with squishy beanbag chairs piled beside it on a snowy night and Lucy fell in love with him all over again.

Wait, what?

Lucy stopped and tried to mentally rewind exactly what the words were.

... _and she fell in love with him all over again_...

The words were true, that she knew in her heart. She had fallen for Natsu Dragneel, into love that was warm and as indescribable and inexplicable as a dragon cave that smelled like wood fires even when there had been none burning.

~~~ooo~~~

Lucy opened her eyes and dabbed at the wetness that had collected at the corners. Happy tears, tears of realization. Someday, she'd end up telling him, but not today.

Today, she would figure out the two-month-old mystery, and then, she'd work on the one that she somehow knew hadn't just happened now, but over a longer period of time.

First things first. Find-the-scarf game, then she'd let fate decide.

She ran upstairs after the Dragon Slayer and started looking under desks and on top of cupboards. Natsu had clearly already been there, his path of destruction had been razed through the neatly arranged furniture and decorations. With a sigh, Lucy gave up the hunt and trailed after her friend.

As she rounded the corner, she found him sniffing the air, then bolting over to dig through a decorative glass jar full of shiny pebbles set in the corner of a closet. Lucy stepped forward, and Natsu looked up and smiled, yanking his hands behind his back with a hopeful, awkward expression.

"Oh, hey! I just...dropped...something..." His face reddened. Natsu clearly knew his attempt at covering up the hiding place was not going to work. With a confident smirk, she stepped forward, and someone encouraged her step into the tiny room with a gentle push from a spell that slammed and locked the door behind them.

 **Levy, Levy, Levy, what's going to happen next? Hahaha XD**


End file.
